Scouring and bleaching of yarns and fabrics composed of vegetable fibers containing dyed-effect threads or fibers



r fia n UNETED JAMES DAVID LUMSDEN, DECEASED, LATE OF ALMONDBANIQ, SUGTLANI, B'

"K, ROBEILT VI. 1%. .llfiifililflll Bil. G. LUI-ESDEN, G1 ALHL'GITIDBAM'K, AND A ANDER P. MELVILLE, OF EDINBUMGZ-Z, SCOTLAND, IECECUTORS, AND ROBERT "W, JVIACKENZIE, 0F EARLSHALL, "fit A. IA. LUMSDEN, OF ALMONDBA JOHN G. IKILLER, OI PERTH, BO

OF ALMONDZBANK, SCOTLAND.

SCOURING AND BLEACI-IING OF YARNS AND FABRICS COIVLPOSED O1? VEGETABLE ro We "in t A i r i BENSON, :PETRIEI, AND

CONTAINING DYED-EFFECT THREADS OB FIBERS.

No Drawing.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS 01 THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT,

'Earlshall, Fife, Scotland, JOHN GARDNER MILLER, a resident of Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, ROBERT OsWAnD- LUMsnnN, a resident of Almondbank, Perthshire, Scotland, and ALEXANDER PATRICK MnLwLLn, a resident of Edinburgh, Scotland, all subjects of the vKin of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of flan, are executors of the estate of JAMES DAVID LUMsDnN, formerly a resident of Huntingtowerfield, Almondbank, Perthshire, Scotland, but now deceased, and that we, ROBERT WALKER RANNm MACKENZIE, a resident of Earlshall, Fife, Scotland, ER- Nns'r HOWARD RoBINsoN, a resident of Stormontfield, Perth, Scotland, and Morris FoR'r, a resident of Almondbank, Perthshire, Scotland, all British subjects, jointly with the late JAMEs DAVID LUMsDnN aforesaid. have invented new and useful improvements in and relating to the scouring and bleach ing of yarns and fabrics composed of vegetable fibers containing dyed-effect threads or fibers, (for which we have filed an application in Great Britain March 20, 1920, Patent No. 165,198), of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to our improved process of scouring and bleaching cotton and linen yarns and fabrics containing dyed efiect fibers or threads, whereby the well-known difficulty of avoiding bleeding and staining during boiling or scouring with alkaline solutions is largely or entirely overcome. By application of our invention the dyed colours are also better preserved, the fabrics yield a superior finish and appearance, and in many cases a much better whlte can be obtained than by any known scouring and bleaching operations hitherto applied to this class of material.

We carry out our invention by making preliminary tests as to the nature and behaviour Serial No. 454,933,

of the dyed portions of yarns and fabrics when extracted with volatile organic solvents such as benzol, naphtha, benzine. In only very few cases among the bleaching, colours i1 present use, with the exception of a few indigoid vat dyes, will. solvent extraction, hot or cold, seriously affect the colour of dyed fibers or threads to cause staining or excessive bleeding. Qther solvents than these also may be used, for example alcohol and chlorinated hydrocarbons, but these latter are more likely to affect the dyed shades than the examples of hydrocarbons solvents give-n. We then proceed to carry out extraction of the goods in bulk with a suitable volatile organic solvent whereby are eliminated from the fabrics substantial amounts of impurities, chiefly oil, fat and wax and allied and associated matter for the removal of which alkaline scouring or boiling has hitherto been. applied.

The extraction with solvents may be car ried out by use of any known method and apparatus and the solvent employed recovered as well as the extracted oily, fatty and waxy matter by steaming, distillation and other known means of recovery. Thereafter a much shorter or milder scouring with alkaline solutions than is usually required, or is otherwise permissible, may be given to the goods, as for example, boiling without pressure where otherwise pressure is required, or saturation with hot weak alkaline solutions by running through a machine or by passing hot alkaline solutions through the goods instead of boiling with alkali, or sodium carbonate may replace the use of caustic soda, or caustic sodathe use of lime, or in the case of some cotton fabrics alkaline treatments may be omitted. altogether and yet satisfactory whites may be obtained by chemicking and scouring after the solvent extraction we propose It has been proposed previously to bleach cotton and linen goods white after solvent extraction and subsequent boiling without reference'to the preservation of dyed fibers liable to bleed on boiling with alkalis, and

we make no claim herein to the treatment of any class of goods other than these containing dyed eflect threads or fibers, our in vention being solely concerned with the preservation of these from bleeding and staining during scouring and bleaching treatment by a preliminary solvent treatment which allows of eliminating or reducing the severity of alkaline scouring in a manner favourable to the preservation of dyed colours in the goods undergoing treatment.

It has been proposed and patented previously by us to extract with solvents linen. and cotton goods, including goods also containing dyed threads in order to ensure good beetling properties. It is now claimed as our invent-ion to extract such goods which require to be bleached but may or may not require to be beetled.

Our invention is also applicable to the scouring and bleaching of yarns and fabrics consisting entirely of dyed fibers in which the dyed shades are required to withstand the subsequent scouring and bleaching of the fibers upon which they are dyed.

What we claim is 1. The process of scouring linen and cotton yarns and fabrics containing dyed threads or fibers, which comprises treating said yarns and fabrics with a volatile organic solvent to remove impurities, and

1 ssess thereafter subjecting the said articles to a comparatively mild scouring operation with alkaline solution.

2. The process of scouring linen and cotton yarns and fabrics containing dyed threads or fibers, which comprises treating said yarns and fabrics with a volatile organic solvent to remove impurities, and subecting the said articles to a. comparatively mild scouring operation with alkaline solu tion, in conjunction with subsequent bleaching operations, substantially as; described.

S. A. R. F. LUMSDEN. R. IV. R. MACKENZIE. J. G. MILLER. R. O. LUMSDEN.

ALEX. P. MELVILLE. Ewecutors of James David Lumsden, alcce'ased. Y R. W. R. MACKENZIE, ERNEST H. ROBINSON. MORRIS FORT.

Witnesses to the signatures of S. A. R. F. Lumsden, R. W. R. Mackenzie, J. G. Miller, R. O. Lumsden, Ernest H. Robinson,and Morris Fort:

D. A. OoATEs, D. A. R. CUTHBERT.

Witnesses to the signature of Alex. P. Melville:

ALAsrAIR H. CREVAR, JOHN H. M. SoMERvILLE. 

